Relative Strangers - by B K Jackson (Paperback)

About the Book

Relative Strangers: Inheritance, Identity, and the Meaning of Kinship-a provocative anthology features 28 acclaimed and emerging writers explore the transformative experience of encountering unknown close relatives

Book Synopsis

What's it like when a complete unknown is actually close family? In Relative Strangers: Inheritance, Identity, and the Meaning of Kinship-a provocative anthology curated by B.K. Jackson, with a foreword by Libby Copeland, 28 acclaimed and emerging writers explore the transformative experience of encountering unknown close relatives. These are intimate stories by those who've spent years longing and searching for their unknown biological families and by others shocked to discover they have parents or siblings they never dreamed of-blindsiding revelations that demand both a radical recalibration of identity and a redefinition of family. Each addresses the myriad emotions that arise in the wake of these discoveries and encounters, demonstrating that what we don't know can hurt us, that secrets are toxic, and that truth can bring healing, redemption, and, sometimes, estrangement. Woven through is a universal question: What does it mean to be family?

Review Quotes

In this groundbreaking collection of essays, B.K. Jackson has assembled

a group of writers who, while wildly different, share a profound truth in

common-a truth that was kept from them all their lives. If you've ever

wondered what it might be like to have your life upended by a DNA discovery,

as so many thousands of us have, this book is for you. If you've been affected

by a DNA discovery that has brought you to your knees, run, don't walk.

Press this book into the hands of anyone who asks: "What difference does it

make?" The answer to that question is in these pages.

-Dani Shapiro, author of Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy,

Paternity, and Love

Relative Strangers is a collection of essays full of secrets. Family secrets.

Imagine finding out that the man who raised you is not your biological

father. Perhaps your father never knew you were born. Maybe a parent you

never knew has a family full of kids you realize are also your family. And you

set out in search not only of those you never knew, but your own identity,

which is now in flux. Every one of these essays is written with an almost

ruthless honesty, and its companion, vulnerability. This is the most powerful

kind of writing-an unforgettable book, and long overdue.

-Abigail Thomas, author of A Three Dog Life

The mysterious double helix of identity and belonging binds the heart-

achingly unique stories in Relative Strangers. In intimate and haunting prose,

the writers fearlessly explore one of humanity's oldest and most existential

themes: genetic roots and the shaping of the individual. Breaking the silence

of family secrets, rejecting the shame of genetic separation, they share their

most intimate and vulnerable moments to shed light on subjects that have

long been shrouded in darkness. With stories that plumb the very essence of

the human condition, Relative Strangers is not just a compelling and deeply

revealing read, but also great literature.

-Alice Stephens, author of Famous Adopted People

Relative Strangers is a powerful patchwork of stories that reveals the devastation

of family secrets and the long shadows of shame and loss that shape identity

and belonging. The chorus of courageous voices in this anthology compels

readers to see truth-telling as essential and deepens our understanding of

the innate desire to know and feel deeply loved by our genetic relatives. Like

ghosts of family members lost to adoption or hidden histories, these stories

linger-haunting and unforgettable.

-Sara Easterly, co-author of Adoption Unfiltered: Revelations from

Adoptees, Birth Parents, Adoptive Parents, and Allies and author of the

award-winning spiritual memoir, Searching for Mom